September 8, 2002

This is election season. I have never understood people who say politics doesn’t interest them. To me, it is the business of life. This is the process we use to select officeholders who make life and death decisions for us and determines our society’s priorities. What could be more important? Much effort has been made to make partisanship and dissent dirty words. To be partisan is to band together with those who share your views (such as joining a union); to dissent when our government betrays its ideals is the most patriotic of acts. I can’t think of anything more suited to our democracy than to follow our convictions and exercise our right to free expression.

This week many will fly flags to symbolize their support for our republic. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but instead of only symbolically supporting our nation, consider actually participating in its democratic process. I would argue that displaying a yard sign for a candidate you support is every bit as American as flying the flag.

Amendments 15, 19, 24, and 26 to America's Constitution all relate to the right to vote. Yet that hard-won right is meaningless if it is not exercised. Be a patriot, and do the following:

• register to vote if you have not already done so
• update your registration if your address or name has changed
• apply for an absentee ballot if there is any chance that you will be away on election day (if, for instance, you are an examiner)
• and, of course,...vote